A small Friday longread, please bear with me.

They've dug up again the already forgotten bill on online wine sales via Russian Post infrastructure.

It's important to understand that besides supporting winemakers (especially small ones), there is a point that few write about, namely "indirectly throw some money to the ever-needy Russian Post, so as not to look for funds for direct subsidies again."

The bill at first glance looks quite OK, if not for the so-called marketplaces being screwed into this whole chain.
The market risks getting another market distortion; the state does not regulate or control marketplaces even 20% of what happens in retail.
We cannot imagine a situation where a federal retailer openly trades counterfeit goods or sells for 500 rubles a day the right to set an "original" badge in a product card.
But on marketplaces – voila, please, here you have counterfeit goods, and just garage washing powders under well-known brands, and that's only what makes it into the news; in fact, we all know what a bazaar-station is happening in this part of the economy.
At the same time, marketplaces bear no responsibility, at the right moment pretending to be just "showcases" (taking 40-70% commission, though), while the trade law (quite strict and regulated) applies only to retailers.

And a little about the "logic of the moment": now we have a situation with a legislative ban on delivery, but everyone understands everything, and both small and medium winemakers and importers are engaged in delivery.
Everyone except retailers.

Now, perhaps, delivery will be handled by winemakers, importers, and marketplaces, again everyone except retailers.

And in general, the only and most logical online delivery of Russian wine that Russia needs is from the winemaker directly to the buyer, and through Russian Post infrastructure this can be quite arranged; currently they are quite coping with it, just when sending a "cargo," winemakers write that the package contains a vase or something glass.
With the sale of all other alcohol, all current market participants are quite coping, fortunately the density of retail in Russia is probably one of the highest in the world.

As a bonus to the bill, they want to allow advertising of wineries and terroirs on billboards in the regions where they are located (along highways), but without specific wine brand names and images of bottles.
Here a like definitely, we look forward to winemaking aesthetics along the roads 🍾